Evaluation Expert

Introduction of the Organization and Programme

Berytech, initiated in 2002 by the Saint-Joseph University in Beirut, offers the right and adapted environment to work with entrepreneurs while creating and developing their innovative startups and SMEs. Berytech plays a major role on the Economic level in Lebanon through the projects and initiatives, with both local and International partners and stakeholders, that create value and jobs.

ACT SMART (Agri-Food & CleanTech) Innovation Hub is initiative funded by the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it represents a new out-of-the-box approach for strengthening business advancement and job creation in the Agri-Food and Cleantech sectors in Lebanon. It applies a sector-wide approach for economic growth by stimulating innovators and entrepreneurs to put their creativity and energy at the service of these two sectors and encouraging them to develop local solutions to the environmental and food security challenges faced by the Lebanese communities.

The initiative is running over 36 months from August 2019 to July 2022. It will create 200 direct job opportunities and 400 indirect job opportunities with at least 50% are linked to Youth (≤35 years old) and 25% are linked to women, and will have an indirect impact on the life of more than 3,000 persons. It will also propose policy reforms and establish lobbying and coordination structures that will last beyond the lifetime of the initiative using Dutch know-how and expertise throughout the process.

The initiative is located in Beryech’s Technology Pole in Mar Roukoz, Beirut, Lebanon, with a target impact across the entire local area with an eye out for International opportunities for growth. It is led by Berytech who works with two main local partners:

• American University of Beirut (AUB)-Issam Fares Institute which has a programmatic focus on establishing 3 Cleantech working groups on water, waste and energy and
• Industrial Research Institute (IRI) which has a programmatic focus on Encouraging the generation & commercialization of intellectual property (academia to industry links). IRI is in charge of the technical aspects of the award (organizing the competition, selecting the winners, monitoring the progress and providing backstopping and coaching, etc…) while Berytech is in charge of the financial and administrative requirements of the award. The award size (called innovation voucher) is US$25,000 per research project.

The initiative's overall objective is to Strengthen business advancement in the Agri-Food and Cleantech sectors in Lebanon towards economic growth, development and job creation.

This objective is realized by building capacities, creating and promoting innovative start-ups in the Agri-Food and Cleantech sectors, while also supporting and expanding the Agri-Food Innovation Cluster established under Berytech and Initiating three Cleantech working groups on Energy, Waste and Water.

(See Annex 1- ACT SMART Logframe & Annex 2- ACT SMART Theory of Change).

Objective of the Evaluation

This evaluation process aims at assessing the initiative’s progress towards the achievement of its planned objectives and results for the time period between August 2019 and January 2021. The scope of the evaluation foresees an evaluation along the five OEC-DAC criteria which examine the overall relevance & design, the effectiveness of implementation, the efficiency in converting inputs into results, and the sustainability of the initiative. It also examines its impact in term of the attainment of its objectives and results and how these can potentially shape the employability status and the impact on the selected sectors in Lebanon and the region.

The evaluation must include the performance of Berytech in handling and implementing the first  half of the initiative i.e. first 18 months of the initiative along with suggestions and recommendations for improvement for the second half of the initiative.

The specific questions for the evaluation are listed below.

Relevance

1. The relevance of the initiative to the beneficiaries targeted. How did it address employability and competitiveness? Through the accelerator, Cluster, Cleantech working Groups and IP Valorization?Detail how apprioriate was the quality of the problem analysis and the initiative’s intervention logic. To what extent was the initiative relevant and appropriate to the needs of the beneficiaries initially stated in the proposal?
2. To what extent was the initiative relevant and appropriate to the unprecedented needs arisen after October 2019 revolution, economic/fiscal crises, inflation, Beirut blast, COVID19, etc.)

Effectiveness (Outcomes):

3. To what extent were the outcomes, as indicated in the project proposal, achieved?
4. What support for capacity development (mentors, coaching, workshops, experts, advise, trainings etc.) worked well and why? What did not work well and why?
5. How was the work related to policy interventions effective, did it achieve the mid term results?
6. How was the IP valorization activies effective into making a difference into research to commecrialization mindset?
7. How was setting up the cluster support strategy impactful to more efforts at the cluster. 

Efficiency

8. How efficiently did Berytech manage to convert inputs to outputs and implement the initiative?
9. How efficiently did Berytech manage to keep on track and how efficiently were the delays managed?
10. How flexible and adaptive was the initiative when accommodating changes in circumstances and operational conditions and addressing the substantive contextual challenges since the uprizing started in October 2019? And to what extent did this affect the overall coherence of its design and what are the lessons learned from the process?

Sustainability

11. How will the initiative implementation help Berytech improve its offerings to its beneficiaries, and what is the program providing to improve knowledge transfer and upgrade of support to beneficiaries that can be used beyond the term of this program.? for Cluster, working groups and accelerator.
12. Berytech will take a success fee equal to 10% of all investments raised 1 year following the end of the acceleration program to help support Berytech Foundation in its commitment to continue the program and support future batches in Agrytech and Cleanergy. the success fee will be capped at US$100,000. Following this statement, How many ideas were developed into actual, healthy start-ups that can operate, grow? And how can this be reflected in sustaining support.

Impact

13. To which extent did the initiative contribute so far in creation of jobs, strengthened business advancement in the Agrifrood and Cleantech sectors in Lebanon, and  be expected to improve to the sectors?
14. How successful was the initiative in solving relevant challenges in the Agri-Food and Cleantech sectors? How many were co-founded by youth and women? And were startups supported and incubated at Berytech? Cluster and working groups members attracted and supported for better growth?

Scope of the evaluation

The scope of the evaluation is limited to:

1. Programmatic scope: the evaluation concerns the initiative, carried out by all partners. The evaluation will focus on the direct services for startups, cluster members, policy change as well as the support mechanisms  that have been provided through the Action.
2. Geographical area: The evaluation will be carried out in Greater Beirut area with a couple of visits in  different parts of Lebanon
3. Timeframe: March-June 2021
4. Population: At the start of the evaluation, the Partners and the Evaluator will agree on a feasible sample size.
5. Intended Users: users of the evaluation include project managers, project partners and selected community members. The recommendations and lessons learned will demonstrate the results achieved by this initiative and also generate evidence-based knowledge and identify the best practices for supporting startups, accelerators and incubators.

The evaluator is invited to suggest an appropriate evaluation methodology that is in line with the objective and scope of the evaluation. During the design of the evaluation methodology, the evaluator will make sure that:

• Existing resources are used, such as Theory of Change, output and outcome monitoring data, quarterly and annual reports, implementaion plan and other secondary materials like evaluations of similar approaches of other (I)/NGOs in Lebanon);
• The views and opinions of various stakeholders of various age groups and gender are taken into account;
• A combination of quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods are used, such as surveys, interviews, focus group discussions. Case studies may also provide more in-depth information;
• Evaluation findings are triangulated and validated;
• Sampling decisions, if applicable, are recorded in the evaluation report and justified.

At the start of the evaluation, the evaluator should develop an inception report, describing the way that the chosen evaluation methods, data sources, sampling and indicators will support the evaluation questions.

Deliverables

The deliverables required from this final evaluation are as follows:

1. An inception report based on this Terms of Reference, initial briefings with Berytech, consultation with other stakeholders which should include:
   1. A desk review of initiative documentation and existing data
   2. Any suggested additions/alterations to the proposed evaluation questions and overall Terms of Reference
   3. A detailed methodology, including planned timeframe, list of stakeholders to be consulted, proposed sampling approach if applicable, plan for data collection and analysis, ethical procedures to be followed
   4. Draft data collection tools
2. Presentation of preliminary findings to validate findings with relevant stakeholders and discuss conclusions
3. Draft recommendations on the remainder (second half) of the initiative as a separate ‘Deliverable’: this should address key goals of the initiative, such as, addressing the changes needed to meet the context of the country and maximise impact on the beneficiaries, the expected sustainability of the of the program’s results (financial, QOOT cluster’sr activities, think tanks, etc.)
4. Draft evaluation report
5. Final evaluation report
6. Evaluation summary (max 4 pages)
7. A clean database / transcripts of all quantitative and qualitative data.

Reporting requirements

Routing of the reporting occurs according to the following guidelines:

• The evaluator will work in close collaboration with the Embassy Program Officer, Berytech Deputy General Manager, Deputy Program Director, initiative staff and Evaluation Manager to ensure alignment of the activities.

The budget and financial report should follow Berytech guidelines for financial reporting. These are based on actual costs and documentary proof.

Provisional planning and implementation

• Procurement of the evaluation consultant: March 15, 2021
• Final report: to be submitted by maximum July 20, 2021 

The evaluation is expected to start in March 2021 and end in July 2021, including preparation, evaluation design, field work, report writing and presentation of findings and recommendations to Partners.

Budget

Budget is based on actual hours spent on the evaluation, the evaluator, is to submit a daily rate and an expected amount of days needed to deliver on the above.

Profile of evaluator / evaluation team

An Evaluator with at least a Master’s Degree in a domain relevant to the assignment, as well as a minimum of 10 years of general working experience, including confirmed experience in development cooperation. The Evaluator should also have a solid background in evaluation, particularly complexity-aware methodologies. S/he should be able to provide at least two examples of published evaluation work in complex and/or fragile settings with a focus on economic development.

Essential:

• Familiarity with Dutch development cooperation is an asset
• Familiarity with the target region and the specific initiative context is an asset.

Fluency in English (Arabic would be an asset)